Oops this turned into a semi rant. But I am legitimately open to discussion here, and am curious to get your thoughts on a few points Bob. That is, IF you're willing to actually think about them beyond the level of repeating talking points.

I find it interesting how divergent the two overall "sides" are in this country, in terms of where they focus. None of the issues brought up in this video are really on the radar of most progressives, beyond being aware some on the right are talking about them. And I'm guessing a lot of the concerns progressives discuss rarely come up in your chosen media landscape. A lot of the issues in the video are largely off of my radar, and I have to wonder how you feel they should be addressed - like, actual proposed solutions rather than just complaining about / worrying about them.

We only dedicate one day to remember our fallen soldiers

How many should there be? Arguably we have more than one already: there's Memorial Day and Veterans Day, and it seems that Sept 11th is often used for the purpose as well.

I'd argue we should spend more time acknowledging and understanding the principals behind WHY our soldiers died in the various conflicts which caused them to fall in the first place. Let's make sure our citizenry appreciates what we collectively rejected in the Revolutionary war. Why it was important that we kept the country together rather than allowing the south to split off in the mid-1800s. Why we chose to honor our diplomatic agreements and support our allies in WW1. Why we fought against the countries and governments we did in WW2. What our goals were in Korea and Vietnam, and what lessons we learned from those conflicts and from the Cold War in general. Commemorating and remembering those we've lost absolutely matters, but if we're ONLY doing that while forgetting why they fought OR ignoring what we learned then we're doing them an equal or greater disservice. Remember that America was built on the idea of forming "a more perfect union" - not a perfect one, a MORE perfect one - a work in progress. We're striving towards an ideal, not assuming we're already there. Learning from our past successes, failures, and our struggles around both outcomes is vital. If our self-analysis is no deeper than hero worship we'll never make real progress towards that theoretical perfect union.

The only mask that's gonna save us is duct tape on their mouths

Yeah, sound medical advice and evidence-based science is terrifying. Better to shut up those whose words we dislike, because we're reactionary authoritarian babymen. I truly do not understand being more afraid of reasonable safety measures than of a virus which has been shown to cause serious harm in the short and long terms. The only reason this "masks = liberal / maskless = conservative" crap came about is because politics has devolved to the level of team sports in the US, and one party has chosen "the opposite of whatever our political opponents say" as their entire governing philosophy. (And yes, ONE party - research and understand the GOP's 2020 platform if you want to argue the point.) This video even seems to reach a reasonable conclusion at the end, while coming up just short of that final logical leap to "maybe I should question what the public faces of MY side have been claiming in this Us vs Them madness." Seriously - keep going friend, you're almost there! George Washington was 100% right in wanting to avoid political parties being a force in the US, and it makes me immensely sad that his fears came true.

Big oil runs the world / the only wars to get fought are with the countries who have natural resources they want

Solid point here, no sarcasm. The US military has long been a tool of our profit-driven form of "free market" imperialism. A really great way to combat this, specifically with an eye to ending Big Oil's goddamn death grip on our foreign policy goals, would be an aggressive implementation of renewable energy projects. Remember the space race? America can be an absolute beast at clever engineering solutions when we dedicate ourselves to it. Fuck the petrostates, we have the available land and resources to absolutely kick ass in the realms of solar and wind power, and be leaders in the the post-hydrocarbon reality. We can certainly agree on that, right Bob? Left / Right nonsense fully aside, I think any reasonable American can agree on at least two points: let's stop sending heaps of cash to buy oil off of the Saudis (etc), and Fuck Cancer.

But if a white man acts too white he's white trash / he's a racist he's a bigot he's a monster

What the fuck is this horseshit? What does "acting too white" even fucking look like? Watching NASCAR on a sailboat while listening to polka? Typically when I see racism from white people it's in the form of denying that brown-hued people deal with any additional difficulties in life due to their skin tone, or denying that there have been structural obstacles for them through history, or lamenting that their white children are being burdened with a broader lens on culture or with (gasp! shock!) an accurate accounting of actual US history, including the ugly bits that we shouldn't be proud of (but MUST learn from). I'm progressive / lefty as fuck and there is no aspect of "white culture" or "acting white" which upsets me in the slightest. UNLESS one counts "denying racism exists / has ever existed" as a fundamental value of being white. Which... why would anyone want to claim that nonsense? If you want to listen to classic country music in a rusty pickup truck while driving to an evangelical church, then discuss hockey over Buds after 18 holes with the rest of your tractor pull team, then absolutely go nuts my fellow caucusoid! Just recognize and understand that your life experiences may not be the same as those of others. Further, if we care about trying to avoid unnecessary, avoidable unfairness in life (recognizing that life will never truly be fair, for anyone), then it might be reasonable for some governmental / legal / structural recognition in furtherance of that notion. There is absolutely room for legitimate policy disagreement here without being accused of racism. It's denial of others' reality which tends to garner the label of racist (sexist etc) - steer clear of denying the lived experiences of other people, allow for the possibility they may have encountered difficulties you haven't / won't, and we've room for further discussion.

Edit / final point: I voted the video back up to 0 from the -1 where I found it. Because while I disagree with a lot of the positions taken by the performer, they may have reached them through no fault of their own and with no true malice. Misinformation / disinformation is a devious shit of a motherfucker, and the rot it causes can run deep. It is painful to abandon deeply-held beliefs, on a fundamental level. If nothing else, the video gives us room to discuss some specific viewpoints held by people who think of themselves as good, but which can lead to harm.

I've been to tractor pulls in Flemington NJ back in the 80's but I'm sure they didn't use the tech they have today. Back then they would blow engines and sometimes catch fire. Awesome. Totally LOUD and fun!

It all happens right in front of you. No around the track stuff.

I’ve been to demolition derbies and monster truck shows in the 80’s where tractor pulls were part of the show, but not a pure tractor pull competition.
Yes, I had fun. It was back in the original Bigfoot days when monster trucks just drove over a few cars and everyone was amazed.

I still really want to go to the Mile of Mud in Florida and see swamp buggy racing in person before I die….but that means going to Florida in the summer.
https://videosift.com/video/swamp-buggy-jeep-racing

This made me want to go hang out with southerners.

Has anyone been to a tractor pull, and is it fun?

Friends of mine have a purebred Border Collie (Charlie) and a Husky/Shepard mix (Ava). Charlie runs like the wind, barely making a whisper. Total stealth mode. Ava is faster, but she doesn't run so much as grab onto the ground and pull the planet around under her. It's really interesting to see the different styles. Charlie is a figure skater, Ava is a tractor pull.

We certainly have tractor pulls in Australia, and they are popular elsewhere so I don't think you can claim it all to yourselves

I found that if you google "stupid sports" you'll find that many of the results were thought up in a pub in the UK... surely tractor pulls aren't as dumb as putting ferrets down your trousers?

Oh gosh, I hope there aren't any ferrit legging fans on vs...

Yeah it's funny and all. Sort of.

I just watched the original. The kid is actually delighted at getting a giant "monster truck" poster. You know, the kind of oversized car crusher with huge wheels that they show off at county fair tractor pulls.

I have kids this age. And looking at this kid - buzz cut, track pants, burly dad with a Steelers jersey - I can't help but cringe when I think what his Monday morning will be like at his likely rural U.S. public middle school. If I had to make an educated guess, he's going to get bullied. For weeks.

So down vote for me. De-viral this one. And it's not that funny anyway.

>> ^nanrod:

Is there something about Michigan I should know about before I plan another visit there. Actually Abbotsford, BC.>> ^Opus_Moderandi:
>> ^nanrod:
I drove past a farm this morning and there was a tractor pulling a big tanker that was doing exactly the same thing!

Michigan?



Nah, not really. Just a lot of rural landscape. Unless you're going to Detroit.

Is there something about Michigan I should know about before I plan another visit there. Actually Abbotsford, BC.>> ^Opus_Moderandi:

>> ^nanrod:
I drove past a farm this morning and there was a tractor pulling a big tanker that was doing exactly the same thing!

Michigan?

>> ^nanrod:

I drove past a farm this morning and there was a tractor pulling a big tanker that was doing exactly the same thing!


Michigan?

I drove past a farm this morning and there was a tractor pulling a big tanker that was doing exactly the same thing!

I will just make this my Tractor pulling thread instead of submitting all the videos.

http://videosift.com/video/Tractor-Pulling-using-3700hp-via-18-cylinders

Check that out, you might like that

The great videos of the radial engines on youtube are not embeddable.. I let them know a piece of my mind about that.

From Wikipedia-

Tractor pulling, also known as power pulling, is a motorsport competition, popular in America, Europe and Australia, which requires modified tractors to pull a heavy sledge (sled) along a 100 metre track, with the winner being the tractor that pulls the sledge farthest. The sport is known as the worlds most powerful motorsport, due to the multi engined modified tractor pullers.

All tractors, in their respective classes, pull a set weight in the sledge. When a tractor gets to the end of the 100 metre (300 feet) track this is known as a “full pull”. When more than one tractor completes the course, more weight is added to the sledge, and the winner is the one who can pull the sledge the farthest.

The sledge is known as a weight transfer sledge. This means that as it is pulled down the track, the weight is transferred (linked with gears to the sledge’s wheels) from over the rear axles and towards the front of the sledge. In front of the rear wheels, there is a ‘pan’. This is essentially a metal plate and as the weight moves over this the resistance builds. The further the tractor pulls the sledge, the harder it gets.

The most powerful tractors, such as those in the 4.5 modified class in Europe, can produce over 10,000 bhp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tractor_pull

I love watching this in my stretched trailer back at the park on my 60" wide screen plasma that I bought on credit. I should have it paid off in about 20 years.

Lots of tractor pulls, rodeo, and wrestling to watch.